“God’s Plan” gave Drake his first of 29 weeks at the summit in 2018

God’s Plan Drake

Writer(s): Aubrey Graham, Ronald LaTour, Daveon Jackson, Matthew Samuels, Noah Shebib (see lyrics here) Released: January 19, 2018 First Charted: February 3, 2018 Peak: 111 US, 3 RR, 16 DG, 111 ST, 111 RB, 19 UK, 110 CN, 111 AU, 21 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 15.0 US, 1.2 UK, 17.19 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1741.11 video, 2472.82 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Drake’s second U.S. #1 as a lead artist (following 2016’s “One Dance”) was only the 29th song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100. WK Its 11 weeks atop the charts also made it one of the 24 longest-running #1’s in the chart’s history. WK It also hit the pinnacle in more than a dozen other countries WK and launched with the largest on-demand streaming count in a 24-hour period with 14 million streams on Apple and 4.3 million on Spotify. WK On top of that, it kicked off Drake’s chart dominance in 2018 as the song was followed by “Nice for What” for 8 nonconsecutive weeks and, later in the year, by “In My Feelings” for 10 weeks. All told, Drake spent more than half the year – 29 weeks – on top of the charts. The song was also nominated for Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The lyrics focused on “fame, fear, and luxury items such as champagne” WK while the music is “bouncy and uplifting, establishing the song as a melodic, upbeat party record.” WK Cardo, one of the song’s producers, sent the original instrumental to Drake in September 2017. WK The video showed Drake engaged in various acts of charity in Miami. As stated at the onset of the video, the entire budget of nearly one million dollars was given away. WK As of November 2018, it was the 16th most-liked video on YouTube. It won Video of the Year at the BET Awards and was nominated for Video of the Year for the MTV Video Music Awards, American Music Awards, and People’s Choice Awards. WK Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/7/2018; last updated 4/1/2024.

Rihanna spent ninth week at #1 with “Work”

Work Rihanna with Drake

Writer(s): Jahron Braithwaite, Matthew Samuels, Allen Ritter, Rupert Thomas, Aubrey Graham, Robyn Fenty, Monte Moir (see lyrics here) Released: January 27, 2016 First Charted: February 13, 2016 Peak: 19 US, 12 DG, 18 ST, 9 RR, 111 RB, 2 UK, 14 CN, 5 AU, 22 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.3 UK, 32.5 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1475.0 video, 1868.68 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: After her seventh album, Unapologetic (2012), Rihanna intended to take a hiatus from recording. It lasted a week and she found herself back in the studio. She released three singles in 2015 and then, at the onset of 2016, released “Work,” the lead single from her eighth album, Anti. It became her 14th #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, putting her just behind The Beatles, Mariah Carey, and Elvis Presley. WK It was also her 50th song to chart on the Hot 100 and 27th to hit the top ten. WK She also became the first artist to have #1 songs from seven consecutive studio albums. SF It was her third collaboration with Drake, following 2010’s “What’s My Name?” and 2011’s “Take Care.” SF The song was written in the summer of 2015 by a team while at Drake’s house. One of the writers, Sevn Thomas and Boi-1da, who’d previously worked with Drake, crafted the dancehall rhythm SF and then sent it to PartyNextDoor, who wrote the lyrics, which talk about working for money as well as fragile relationships. WK Drake then wrote and recorded a verse before the song was played for Rihanna. WK However, her label didn’t care for the Caribbean flavor of the song and it was nearly passed on to Alicia Keys. However, Rihanna fought to keep it, saying “this is my family’s favorite song.” SF Billboard’s Taj Ran said the song had “deep roots in Jamaica’s club scene that spun off from reggae in the 1970s.” WK Forbes’ Hugh McIntyre described the song as urban with hip hop influences and “island vibes,” WK an observation echoed by Rolling Stone’s Daniel Kreps, who said it had a “tropical house vibe.” WK Slant Magazine’s Alexa Camp called it an understated midtempo jam” which “recalls Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’s masterful production work on Janet [Jackson]’s The Velvet Rope.” WK Complex’s Zach Frydenlund said the song “is slower and very rhythmic with Rihanna showing off her vocal skills over the crafty production.” WK By contrast, The A.V. Club’s Robin Reiff said “the sheer repetition of the hook creates a built-in experiation date for when this song transitions from catchy to mildly annoying.” WK Rolling Stone called it a “barely-there tune,” but noted it was still irresistible. WK The song’s “off-kilter” nature led The Guardian to name it the best track of 2016. The song was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/6/2021; last updated 7/29/2023.